Onion harvesting machine



April 8, 1952 N/PERRY ET AL ONION HARVESTING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 16, 1946 Im/eflfar:

NICK PERRY 5YLVE5TER SCHULTZ WWW e]:

April 8, 1952 N. PERRY ET AL 2,592,328

ONION HARVESTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 16, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I uz'eutors N n: K PER RY SYLVESTER SCHULTZ W n/we 15m April 8, 1952 N. PERRY ET AL 2,592,328

ONION HARVESTING MACHINE A no rneys N. PERRY ET AL ONION HARVESTING MACHINE April 8, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet Q4 Filed Sept. 16

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Inventors N IC K PE R RY 'SYLVEST'ER 5 C HU LTZ Patented Apr. 8, 1952 ONION HARVESTING MACHINE Nick Perry and Sylvester Schultz, Chicago Heights, Ill.

Application September 16, 1946, Serial No. 697,244

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to improvements in onion harvesting machines.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved onion harvesting machine which will be power operated to scoop up onions from the ground and to convey them up a conveyor to be dropped into a reciprocating shaker for removing the dirt therefrom, after which the onions will be filled into boxes, which when full, will be slid down over a pair of guide rods or rails to the ground where the boxes will be later collected and removed to a suitable storage building.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved onion harvesting machine supported upon an elongated frame mounted upon wheels and operated by a pair of engines, one engine being used for propelling the harvesting machine, and the other engine being connected with the onion pickup conveyor and shaker for operating the same.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved onion harvesting machine which will be power propelled and operated, being steered by one man and providing means for two or more men to stand on a running board or platform disposed along the opposite rear sides of the machines while rubbing the onions over the shaker, and for filling boxes with the clean onions which when full will he slid down a pair of guide rails to the ground to be collected and stored.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved onion harvesting machine which will be highly eificient in operation, and relatively inexpensive to manufacture and produce.

Other objects will appear as the description proceeds.

, In the accompanying drawings which form a part of this application,

Figure l is a side elevation of the forward part of the improved onion harvesting machine;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the rear portion of the improved onion harvesting machine;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the forward part of the improved onion harvesting machine;

Figure 4 is a plan view of the rear portion or end of the improved onion harvesting machine;

Figure 5 is a detailed plan view of the crank or eccentric operating means for the shaker;

Figure 6 is a view partially in section taken on line E6 of Figure 2, and

Figure 7 is a view taken on the line 'i-l of Figure 1.

Like characters of reference are used throughout the following specification and the accompanying drawings to designate corresponding parts.

In carrying out the invention, there is provided an improved onion harvesting machine having a substantially U-shaped supporting frame gener-, ally indicated by the reference numeral I, the

same being provided with the front wheels 2 which may be steered by means of the steering mechanism indicated generally at 3 and steering wheel 3a, and rear driving wheels 4 which are driven by means of the gasoline engine 5 which operates through the transmission mechanism 6 and driving chain 1 connected between the gears 8 and 9 secured respectively to the shafts ID from the transmission and to the propeller shaft I connected with the usual differential l2.

The driver's seat I3 is suitably supported upon the frame I at the forward left-hand side thereof directly behind the steering wheel 3a, and is within reaching distance of the clutch pedal [4, and the levers |5 and M5 for respectively operating the gear shift and for operating the gasoline feed throttle to the engine.

Mounted upon the vertically extending stanchions positioned directly above the rear axle of said machine, is the forwardly sloping conveyor mechanism generally indicated by the reference numeral l8. The conveyor l8 comprises a pair of chains 2|! mounted on spur wheels 56 mounted on cross rods '25 and 26 which are journaled at opposite ends of the side frame members 23 and 24, cross members 22 are connected between the chains and carry conveyor forks 2| which cooperate with the screen 20 to convey onions dug up by blade 33 to the shaker 39. The lower forward end 66 of said conveyor I8 is suitably supported by the frame I, and is provided with the adjusting screws |9 for tightening the endless conveyor chains 20 upon which the conveyor forks 2| are mounted in transversely extending rows, beingsecured to the cross members 22 secured to said chains. The conveyor mechanism I8 will be provided with the oppositely disposed parallel side frame members 23 and 24, which are secured together at their offset ends by means of cross rods .25 and 28 respectively, which are so arranged that the lower end of the conveyor may be raised and lowered as desired when the crank 21 is used to rotate a winch drum 3| operating a cable 28 secured to the shoes 29 supported at the lower end of said conveyor frame, said cable 28 being extended over the pulley 3|] and over the drum 3|. A ratchet wheel 60 will be secured to the drum 3| and will be locked in the desired position by means of a pivoted dog 6| associated therewith.

A conveyor screen 32 suspended from the side members 23 and '24 by depending plates 62 and 63 and secured to plates 62 and 63 by angles 68 and 69 (see Figure 7) underlies the conveyor 8 and is provided with a transversely extending knife 33 secured to the forward end 64 thereof, whereby when the harvester is propelled along the rows of onions with the runner shoes 29 by the side of the row, the knife 33 will scrape up the onions onto the conveyor at which time the forks 2| of the conveyor will carry the onions upwardly to the upper end of said conveyor, and dump the same into a shaker mechanism hereinafter described.

The operating means for the conveyor and for the shaker mechanism comprises a second gasoline engine 34 which will be secured to the opposite side of the frame I from the engine 5, and will be provided with the crank shaft 35 on which the multiple groove pulley 36 is secured, said engine 34 having a throttle handle 58. A large multiple groove pulley 31 will be secured to the adjacent end of the transversely extending rod or shaft 26 mounted between the upper ends of the stanchions 11, and will be connected by means of the belts 38 with the smaller pulley 36 on the engine crank shaft 35. Since the conveyor I8 is connected directly with the transversely extending shaft 26, rotation of thelarge pulley wheel 31 will affect the operation of said conveyor- Disposed at the rear end of the frame 'I is a reciprocable shaker generally designated by the reference numeral 39, being box-like and substantially rectan ular in shape and supported upon the pivoted links 40 and 4| disposed respectively at the forward and rear ends of said shaker. The bottom of the shaker 39 is formed with a transversely extending grid rails 42 extending over its forward portion retarding the movement of the onions longitudinally of the shaker so that the onions are acted upon more efficiently and for a greater length of time, while the rear portions of the bottom of said shaker is formed with the longitudinally spaced grid rails 43. The shaft 44 is mounted transversely between the stanchions I! by means of brackets 14 and I and connected with the large pulley 3.1 by means of the belt 46 which drives pulley .45 mounted on the end of shaft 44. Midway of the .shaft .44 is provided a crank 41 which is connected by the eccentric pitman 48 one end 16 .of which is journaled .on the crank 41 and the other end H is journaled in a bracket 12 secured on cross-piece 13 of the bottom of the shaker 39, whereby when the engine 34 drives the large pulley 31, the small pulley 45 will also be rotated to operate the crank and pitman 'to reciprocate the shaker which is mounted upon a slight incline from its forward end to its rear end.

Running boards 49 are supported longitudinally of the frame I at the opposite sides thereof and provide means for two or more men standing upon the sa e whi e turning over the onions upon the shaker while the same is being reciprocated to further remove dirt from the onions. The rear end of the shaker 39 is provided with the pivoted end closure 56 which is pivoted or hinged at 5| and provided with the coil springs 52 attached to the closure 50 and to the side of the shaker 39 (see Figure 6) for normally holding the end gates or closure member 59 closed.

The men working upon the running boards ,of the machine will place a box 53 transversely of the frame immediately below the end gate 50, and from time to time will open the end gate permitting the clean onions to fall into the box until the same is completely filled, after which the end gate will be closed and the box will be slid downwardly upon the spaced longitudinally. extending guide rods or rails 54 which are pivoted at 55 to the frame of the machine and are inclined downwardly to contact the surface of the ground, whereby when the boxes are filled to capacity. the same may be slid down the guide rods to the ground while the machine is in motion. The filled boxes of onions will be collected and transported to a suitable store house by separate means of conveyance.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that there has been devised and provided a highly efficient form of onion harvesting machine which will be power operated and selfcontained, whereby as the machine is propelled along a row of onions the same will be scooped up by means of the knife blade at the forward end of the conveyor screen to be picked up by the transversely-extending rows of spaced forks and carried upwardly along the conveyor to be dumped into the shaker mechanism positioned at the rear end of the machine. A plurality of fixed spaced forks 65 rigidly mounted on cross bar will be supported transversely of the stanchions I! by angle braces 8| and 82'rigidly secured to stanchions l1 whereby the forks 2| will pass between adjacent fixed forks to wipe off and remove any of the onions which stick in between the forks of the conveyor.

It will further be seen from the foregoing description, that three men may efficiently operate the improved onion harvesting machine, one man to do the driving and one man to stand on each running boardto assist in the removal of the dirt from the onion and for the filling of the boxes and unloading of the same when filled to slide down the inclined guide rods or rails to the ground.

While the preferred embodiment of the instant invention has been illustrated and described, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention thereto, as many minor changes in detail of construction may be resorted to without departure from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described our invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

In an onion harvesting machine, an elongated inclined shaker, means to oscillate said shaker, said shaker being box-like and having a pivoted panel closure at its lower end, an upper end portion of the bottom of said shaker comprising parallel spaced grid rails extending transversely of the shaker, and a lower end portion of the bottom of the shaker comprising a plurality of parallel spaced longitudinally extending grid rails.

NICK PERRY. SYLVESTER SCHULTZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 23,988 Parvin May 10, 1859 267,959 Wiltse Nov. 21, 1882 386,384 Conway July 17, 1888 736,792 Altstock Apr. 11, 1905 791,369 Richards et al. May 30, 1905 1,085,162 Rose Jan. 27, 1914 1,199,696 Hawley et a1 Sept. 26, 1916 1,439,266 Shaw Dec. 19, 1922 1,454,175 Kovar et a1 May 8, 1923 4 1,494,458 Campbell May 20, 1924 (Other references on following page) Number 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Garner et a1 Jan. 6, 1925 Perrone Nov. 1, 1927 Zuckerman May 29, 1928 Peter Mar. 19, 1929 Zuckerman Feb. 25, 1930 Vorthmann Dec. 27, 1932 Carpenter Dec. 22, 1936 Gustin Jan. 28, 1941 Goodall June 30, 1942 Number Name Date Urschel Oct. 12, 1943 Brown et a1. Dec. 4, 1945 Hertzler Mar. 30, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Sept. 25, 1897 Great Britain Nov. 13, 1897 Great Britain 1902 Australia Oct. 1'7, 1940' 

